You know, I could help you out with that
by Rebound SM
Summary: So anyway, Howard Stark invents the vacuum socket limb, starts the PAS, and becomes friends with Daniel Sousa. Enjoy!


I'm often inspired by one throwaway line in an episode and start to think about a story that supports that line or follows from it. Sousa is one of my new favorite guys right now - positive in the face of his adversities, doesn't mope around like his puppy just got run over, is actually good at his job, and is easy on the eyes.

So I got to thinking about how Howard Stark told Sousa that he could help him with his leg. Which made me start googling some stuff and I found some really fascinating information about the advancements in prosthetic limb technology following WWII. So anyway, this is sort-of-kind-of what it might have been like had the fictional Howard Stark become interested in this topic after WWII.

In real life, a bunch of veterans marched on DC in 1945 to protest their inferior artificial limbs. Because the government at the time required that the limbs given to veterans be provided by the lowest bidding contractor, the prosthetics were sub standard compared to those that civilians used. Due to this bad publicity and new awareness, the government established the Prosthetic Appliance Service in 1945, which became the Veterans Administration's Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service in 1948. The establishment and funding of these groups led to a big improvement for veterans and civilians alike as the funding given for research and development was intended for the benefit of all people in need of these sorts of devices.

As much of technical stuff as I could research is accurate, although of course the technology is ahead of its time. Microprocessors in artificial limbs were definitely not available in the 1940s, but if Howard Stark can hover a car before WWII, he can invent a microprocessor after it. The change from harness-type attachments to socket-type (suction or vacuum) is appropriate, though. Carbon fiber was invented in 1958, but whatever!

So anyway, Howard Stark invents the vacuum socket limb, starts the PAS, and becomes friends with Daniel Sousa. Enjoy!

xxx

"You know, I could help you out with that."

Over the past few months, Daniel had grudgingly developed respect for Howard Stark. He still didn't trust him within a hundred yards of a woman - any woman - but he had to admit that he had been very dedicated in his work with the SSR. Howard had been working with the SSR scientists as well as his own scientific staff to destroy or de-weaponize all of his inventions. Daniel had remained at the head of the project - he was pretty much the only one who didn't really mind Howard's pompousness.

At the beginning of the whole ordeal, when they were dealing with the Leviathan mess, Howard had looked at Daniel's limp and thrown out an offer to help. At the time, Daniel had brushed it aside. Not only was it neither the time nor the place, but that that moment Howard wasn't someone he wanted to have anything to do with him or his leg. At that moment, he mostly wanted to punch Howard in his smarmy face, to be quite frank.

But now two months later he knew that Howard was still thinking about it - he could see it in his eyes, as if he were making calculations and planning designs every time he looked at him. He felt like Howard was cataloging his limp every day. Daniel could tell that he wanted to look at the prosthetic, but that was something that Daniel wasn't comfortable showing anyone.

But by now, Daniel could no longer deny that he was intrigued. He'd see the sorts of things that Howard was capable of and he was starting to wonder if maybe he really could help him. He managed alright with his crutch, but the prosthetic leg had never been comfortable and over the past few months it had become even more painful. He knew his limp was worse than ever and he found himself sitting down and leaning against desks more than he usually did. He had to do something and his options were limited. He could go back to the VA hospital where they would poke around, shove some gauze into the socket of the prosthetic, and send him on his way. Or maybe he could talk to Howard Stark and let him try to help.

He was leaning against a desk with his weight balanced on his good leg, jotting down notes on a clipboard, when he finally got up the nerve to say something to Howard. It was late in the morning and the SSR scientists had gone to lunch. Daniel was about finished with what he wanted to accomplish that morning, and Howard was concentrating on something through a magnifying glass.

"Stark, I was wondering if your offer still stood."

Howard didn't raise his head.

"And what offer would that be?"

Daniel cleared his throat.

"Your offer to help me with my, ah, with my leg."

Howard straightened quickly, then after a moment turned to Daniel with a look in his eyes that Daniel had come to recognize. A project - a puzzle. Howard couldn't resist them.

"My pleasure, Sousa." The men stared at each other. Daniel knew what Howard wanted - he wanted to see his prosthetic.

"It might be easier if you showed me what you've got right now, though." Daniel knew that was the truth and after an uncomfortable glance around the room to make sure it was still empty, he sighed and leaned down to raise his trouser leg up past his knee.

Howard seemed to only glance at it for a few seconds before he looked back up at Daniel.

"Thanks, Sousa. Why don't you come by my house around 5 tomorrow. I'll meet you there. I won't be into the SSR before - I'll just see you there at 5." With a nod and without waiting for a response, Howard rushed out the door.

Daniel nodded dumbly at his retreating back, then looked down at his leg.

The prosthetic was an ugly thing. He supposed it was meant to look like a leg, but it was at best a sick imitation. The foot attached to the ankle with no flexion. The calf was flesh colored, sort of. Where his leg now ended was supported by a box of leather wrapped around padding and metal. Two narrow jointed metal pieces followed up along either side of his knee to where there were more straps and laces to hold the thing on around his lower thigh. It was heavy. It was awkward. It was uncomfortable.

Daniel smoothed his pants leg back down over this sock.

And it was a part of him.

Maybe Howard could help him. But maybe not. Maybe there was nothing better than could be done. Maybe he would simply lose interest and Daniel would be back where he started. Oh well, he thought, it can't hurt to try.

xxx

When Daniel arrived at Stark's mansion the next day he was met at the door by Jarvis. He had long ago cleared the air between the two of them. Jarvis still maintained no great affection for Agent Thompson, but he had grown fond of Agent Sousa. The fact that Sousa had apologized directly to him shortly after the Leviathan incident was over had gone a long way. For Daniel's part, he'd grown fond of the uptight Brit. He had a bone-dry sense of humor that Daniel had come to appreciate. He supposed it was necessary when dealing with Howard Stark on a daily - indeed, hourly - basis.

After exchanging pleasantries, Jarvis got right to the point.

"Mr. Stark is waiting for you in his basement work space. We didn't have an appropriate examination room, but I was able to muster us something approximating it in an unused laboratory space. I hope that you find it suitable for your purposes."

Daniel sighed. It didn't surprise him that Jarvis knew why he was there - of course he did. It just bothered him that it was known that he was asking Stark for help. He hated that he was asking anyone for help. Daniel refused to complain - he was still alive, wasn't he - and to him, asking for help was a hairs-breadth away from complaining.

Jarvis led him through the house, down an elevator, and finally stopped in front of a closed door.

"If you would be so kind as to wait inside? Mr. Stark requests that you please remove your trousers but kindly do not remove your prosthetic."

Daniel considered it a testament to Jarvis' professionalism that he did not exhibit an ounce of discomfort while standing there and asking a federal agent to remove his pants.

"Thanks, Jarvis."

"My pleasure, Agent Sousa. Mr. Stark will be by directly."

Daniel walked into the room and shut the door behind him. If this was what Jarvis had "mustered up," overnight, he couldn't imagine what he would have been able to accomplish given more time. It looked just like a hospital exam room. A familiar odor tickled his nose. Had Jarvis painted? The man was nothing if not thorough.

Daniel removed his trousers and hung them from a hook on the back of the door. The examination table appeared to be adjustable but was currently set to be low enough to the ground that he could easily sit on it and leave his feet on the ground. Daniel was pleasantly surprised. Sitting on something that let his leg dangle was a singularly uncomfortable experience.

After a moment of sitting there in his undershorts and a coat and tie Daniel realize he must look pretty foolish. He took off his coat and tie and added them to the hook, then sat back down and waited. Here goes nothing, he thought.

A few minutes later Howard rushed into the room. His hands were full of blueprints and clipboards, and he hastily dropped them onto a counter top and moved over to shake Daniel's hand.

"Sousa." He said.

"Stark," Daniel replied.

Howard reached behind him and brought forward a set of blueprints and laid them out on the table next to Daniel, pulling up a stool next to the lowered examination table.

"This appears to be what you have now," Stark began, and as Daniel looked over the sketches, he would have to agree. It did appear to be a schematic of his artificial limb drawn on Stark Industries labelled blueprints.

"Where on earth did you find this?" Daniel asked.

"I drew it last night."

"Based on what?"

"What do you mean? Based on that leg you're wearing right now!" Howard appeared to not understand the question.

"But you looked at my leg for about ten seconds, Stark. How can you draw a schematic from ten seconds!"

"Ten seconds was more than enough, Sousa. This is kind of what I'm good at. And with what I know about prosthetic limb technology-"

"Yeah, about that," Daniel interrupted. "When did you become an expert in prosthetic limb technology?" Daniel looked at him warily.

"Last night. I did the reading." Stark looked slightly wounded.

Daniel realize that he had to get himself together. Howard Stark was sitting in front of him, apparently willing to use his sizable resources to help him. As much as he was wary of asking for help in general and of Howard Stark in particular, he realized that he was being difficult for no reason. Daniel sighed and looked away.

"Sorry, Howard. It's just been a long time since I've had to share this with anyone. I guess I'm a little more defensive that I thought I would be."

Howard leaned back and gave Daniel a genuine smile.

"It's okay, Daniel. Sometimes it's hard to ask anyone for help. I'm realizing that more and more lately."

Maybe Howard was human after all, Daniel thought. He realized that they had stopped calling each other Sousa and Stark. Now it was Daniel and Howard - which seemed reasonable. He was sitting half naked in the man's basement and asking him to make him a new leg. Seems like a first-name-basis sort of relationship, Daniel thought.

Howard looked toward the door as subside knocked softly and then came in. He continued taking as a man in a lab coat made his way into the room. "And speaking of help, I also brought in an expert."

"Daniel, this is Doctor Franklin Marsh. Doctor Marsh, this is Agent Daniel Sousa. Doctor Marsh is America's leading expert in prosthetic limbs. I flew him down from new York this morning."

The doctor reached out to shake Daniel's hand. "Quite early this morning, actually, Agent Sousa. Mr. Stark can be quite persuasive. It is, however, a pleasure to meet you." His voice was slightly accented. German, maybe? Perhaps one of the many clever men who managed to get out of Europe just in time?

Daniel nodded at the doctor. "No, thank you, Doctor Marsh. It's an honor to meet you."

Howard spoke again. "With Doctor Marsh's ideas about prosthetic design and my technology, I think we can really make some great advancements here." The timbre of his voice rose as he began to get excited about technology. Doctor Marsh brought him back to reality.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Stark. But let us not forget about our patient to begin with, no?"

Howard looked petulant but nodded. Daniel supposed he usually didn't have to worry about patients - just raw materials.

"Mr Stark and I have discussed a number of things this morning. I have some ideas about new socket design and Mr Stark has done some research into material sciences that might make it possible to improve the fit, security, and weight of the leg."

After limping down the hall and back while the two men watched - which Daniel felt quite silly doing - he sat back down on the examination table.

"Daniel, there's certainly a few things I can tell already just from seeing you walk. The prosthetic seems to me to be the wrong length, but the primary issue is, I believe, that the socket and suspension system are poorly fitted." Howard nodded along. "It looks too heavy and too loose, and the hinge at the knee isn't doing you any favors. I assume that you have maintained knee mobility?"

Daniel nodded.

"And I also assume you're in quite a bit of pain right now?"

Daniel nodded again and Howard looked up from his notes at that, looking slightly surprised. Did he not realize that the damn thing hurt every day?

"How frequently do you experience phantom limb pain, Daniel."

Daniel grimaced before he answered. This was exactly the sort of information he hated to share with anyone. It was bad enough that once a month he woke up dripping in sweat from pain he could feel in a limb that was no longer there - people knowing that it happened made it seem even worse.

"No more than once a month, Doctor Marsh, and it's usually during a time of stress. It's gotten better over the past year." Stress was a pretty good indicator of bringing on the pain. The last time he'd felt it was the night after he'd realized Peggy was working with Stark. That had been a bad night.

"Why don't you remove the prosthetic and lets take a look at what we're working with."

Daniel reached down and unlaced and unstrapped the device, laying it on the table beside him. Doctor Marsh pressed a button, raising the table to allow him better access to Daniel's bruised limb. Daniel lay back as the examination continued, and Howard picked up the prosthetic to examine it.

Daniel tried to concentrate as the two men discussed the pitfalls of the old prosthetic and the potential design of a new one. He was trying not to get too excited but he was really feeling like there might be a possibility of this making a change. Doctor Marsh seemed to be very invested in Daniel's case. He supposed it was heartening when a millionaire took interest in your cause. Daniel was beginning to think that maybe he would be the lucky one to be their guinea pig.

The two men measured Daniel's other leg and then informed him that they would be making a plaster cast of his stump. He nodded again. While the cast was setting, Doctor Marsh finally addressed another question to Daniel.

"What do you want to accomplish with this limb, Agent Sousa."

He thought about it for a moment. What *did* he want? Just to be normal - to not stick out. But even that seemed like it was shooting for the moon.

"I'd like to be able to walk without a crutch. And I'd like it to not hurt." He paused. That would be enough, but maybe… "I'd like to be able to dance." He finished. "I kind of miss dancing."

The room was silent for a moment.

"I promise you, Daniel, with what I can make you you'll be dancing by New Years." Howard sounded sincere - and determined.

An hour later Daniel was re-dressed and getting driven home by Jarvis - he had insisted. Daniel had been directed to return in a week, and he wasn't sure how he could bear to wait that long. He couldn't deny it anymore. He was so excited that his stomach was in knots. He was beginning to dare to think that this might actually work out.

xxx

A week later he sat in the same exam room and his stomach hadn't settled down yet.

Howard walked in with something in his hands. He passed it over to Daniel who was amazed at how light it was. It looked nothing like his old prosthesis.

"How the heck does it stay on?" He asked. There was obviously a place for him to slide his stump into, but nothing else. "There's no straps, no harness!"

Howard couldn't stop grinning.

"It's a vacuum seal, Daniel. It even helps with blood flow and reduces swelling." He took the device out of Daniel's hands and began explaining the specifics to him.

"Here's the socket - thermoplastic molded to your exact shape and designed to vacuum seal to your leg." He then gestured to the shaft. "This is carbon fiber - super light and super strong - and this one is actually the right length." Now he gestured to the ankle and foot, also made of carbon fiber apparently. "These joints are processor-assisted, so that they bend and flex like a real ankle and foot would, and give you spring back and resistance like your own tendons and ligaments."

He looked back at Daniel with a hopeful expression, but Daniel couldn't seem to find the words he was looking for. Finally he managed to say something - although it was less than he was feeling.

"It looks amazing, Howard. Truly amazing."

Howard smiled. "Let's get you into it then, shall we?"

Doctor Marsh had entered and he now showed him the procedure for fitting the new device. First Daniel massaged ointment into his leg, then Doctor Marsh helped him roll on a soft rubbery sock, smoothing it up over his knee and lower thigh to remove any air between the liner and his skin. Over that went a cushioned sock, and then it was time for the prosthesis itself. With the assistance of Howard and Doctor Marsh, Daniel fitted his stump into the socket and then allowed his body weight to seat it into the device.

Daniel sighed in relief. He could already tell how much more comfortable this was going to be. The socket was molded to his shape perfectly, and the smooth cushioned layer was soothing and snug without pinching or poking him. He was already thrilled, but what happened next truly amazed him.

There was a second rubbery sleeve attached to the leg that they then rolled up, past the soft sock, until it lay against the inner liner.

"This creates the vacuum seal," Howard explained. "Now we just help it along."

Leaning over, he attached a small manual pump to a valve on the prosthetic and pumped it a few times. Daniel could feel his leg settling in. It felt secure. It felt comfortable. It felt - amazing, frankly.

He shifted his weight back and forth. He lifted his feet up off the floor, one foot at a time. He didn't feel any pain, even when all his weight was on the prosthetic. It was so light he could hardly tell he was wearing it. He could bend his knee easily. He couldn't believe it. Suddenly he couldn't wait any more.

"Can I take it for a spin?" He looked back and forth between Howard and Doctor Marsh.

"By all means, Daniel. See how she drives." Howard was grinning.

"Perhaps a small amount of care should be taken," the doctor said as he handed Daniel his crutch, although he was also smiling. "Please do try to use proper movement, Daniel. Your muscles will have to be re-strengthened to allow you to walk without a limp, but this leg should let you do that."

Daniel accepted the crutch and hurried out of the door and into the long basement hallway. He suddenly understood what the doctor had meant. The way he had gotten into the habit of walking with the crutch wasn't doing him any favors right then. He had to recalibrate his gait and it felt strange. He stood up and balanced without leaning on the crutch. Using it only for balance but not for support, he took a few tentative steps, concentrating on the feeling of not having painful pressure with every step. He tried to force himself to forget the previous feeling and concentrate on the easy way he could put weight on the prosthetic and the way his knee could actually lift the lightweight device.

After a few more passes up and down the long hallway while Howard and Doctor Marsh watched and Howard decided to tweak a few things in the ankle of the prosthetic. The few minutes Daniel had to sit down to give him access made him fidget. He was so close to walking normally again and he couldn't wait. He itched to get back off the table. Finally Howard released him again and it was perfect.

A few hours after getting the new limb and Daniel was walking without his crutch. He couldn't stop grinning and his smile was infectious. Howard and Doctor Marsh were both grinning with him.

"Daniel, I want you to know that I've set the wheels in motion to overhaul the prosthetics department of the veterans administration, and Doctor Marsh here will be in charge."

"With Mr. Stark's influence - and frankly, with his money - we're going to be able to improve the lives of thousands of people, Daniel. The research we did with you is going to help veterans and civilians alike." Doctor Marsh was obviously thrilled. Daniel supposed it was a pretty life changing event for him.

Daniel had to admit that Howard was surprising him. Usually he considered the technology ahead of the people it affected. Here he was doing something in the other direction.

"Not too shabby, Howard. Nice work." Daniel nodded appreciatively in Howard's direction. "I'm happy I could be your test subject. Next generation you can give me rocket boosters, right?"

With the same grin that sometime made Daniel still want to punch him, Howard replied. "What's the point of being a millionaire philanthropist if you can't try to do something impressive with it?"

"Oh, you're a philanthropist now?" Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"I'm working on it." Howard replied.


End file.
